The worry, for those who admire him, is that his resignation will suck the energy out of him and leave him empty, writes Kate Holmquist.
WHEN POP musician Nicky Byrne described on RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline how his father-in-law had "sweated blood for Ireland", he set the tone for the hagiography of St Bertie, who apart from sweating blood may soon develop stigmata as well.
"Wounded" was how his brother Maurice Ahern described him and his resignation announcement appears to have only enhanced the conviction of those who see him as a martyr.
Legions of the faithful texted Liveline in his defence, with just 55 per cent believing that the Taoiseach was right to be stepping down. Bertie proves that it is possible for a man to be so likeable, so charming and personable that he can do no wrong. Many of these are people who've seen him grow from a 25-year-old in an anorak to a 56-year-old political archetype in a well-cut suit and orange make-up.
No other politician would get away with it - managing to retain a likeability factor that defies logical analysis in the florid face of sustained public scrutiny.
Those of us who like Bertie have an almost childlike reaction to his humanity and approachability. He remembers the names of ordinary folk, is always ready to banter about sport and politics over a pint of Bass and he's polite almost to a fault. He greets you like an old friend, yet you could know him for 20 years and never see your "friendship" with him rise from politeness to emotional engagement because, like the most successful public figures, Bertie is a brand.
All bright packaging, with the dull and businesslike substance - porridge, probably - carefully triple-wrapped inside the box.
Yet his word-of-mouth PR gives his brand a reliability that no amount of money can buy. When people speak of being forever grateful to him for fixing this or that situation for them within minutes, they mean what they say. It's a brand built by pure clientelism and it's a way of operating that the Irish trust.
And then there's his Catholicism, which he wears without shame. His reference in his resignation speech to the many Mass cards and prayers that he has received during recent embattled days was no off-hand remark. Faithfulness to the Catholic Church, even to the point of never divorcing, has always been a part of his brand.
It reflects an endearing salt-of-the-earth humility.
His entire adult life has been lived through politics, and yet he has never quite successfully hid his shyness, his tendency to go red in the face under pressure, and a set of nerves that sometimes have him visibly gritting his teeth one moment, then turning on that famous charisma the next.
Only those who have worked with him know of his ability to turn the charisma on and off, bantering with Johnny from Drumcondra one moment and then, just as suddenly, switching off to mutter miserably to a political confidant. Does he have a dark side? Unquestionably, though it rarely betrays itself. One political reporter describes dining with him and other hacks at Farmleigh, then repairing to the billiard room after dinner.
When the reporter challenged Bertie to a game of snooker, his face went stony and he promptly left the gathering. For some reason, he was simply unable to cope with the company one moment longer.
But most of us have never got close enough to see these contradictions. To those who admire him, he's a certain type of selfless career politician - grounded in the local pub while making history internationally - whom we may very well never see the like of again. The worry, for those who admire him, is that his resignation will suck the energy out of him and leave him an empty package. And while his anorak sold for £400 in 1983, fewer are likely to bid at auction for one of his tribunal suits.
Will the glad-handing faithful, the fellow pint-drinkers and the church sustain him? It's hard to imagine him devoting his time to changing nappies for Nicky and Georgina's twins.
In fact, it's hard to imagine him doing anything but coping from moment to moment, crisis to crisis, in a political life that has formed him for the past 31 years.
Those who love Bertie because he is one of nature's gentlemen, will know that the challenge he faces now as a relatively young man, is far greater than any he has faced before.